BRAPA - Further North, Chapel Allerton

After another horrid 'project' day, it was a great relief to be able to tick off a pub only a couple of miles from L**ds, my place of work.  Fittingly, the bus departed from opposite sister pub North Bar, at a stop which I'd always squinted at in fear from the safety of a pub window - if you like fried chicken and tattoos, this is the street for you.

I was warned by crazy work colleague Karen L that my bus would be full of weirdos, but nothing had braced me for an encounter with 'Catherine the receptionist', who shouted to me from afar, so the whole bus soon knew my BRAPA plans.

In the black drizzly evening, I soon arrived, the other highlight of the short journey being a girl on her phone matter-of-factly saying "yes, she works as an elf at the Trafford Centre on Wednesdays".

You'll just have to imagine the glowing red bit says "Further", ok? 

968.  Further North, Chapel Allerton

This was what you'd called an "intimate" venue, a much smaller squarer room than it's Leeds counterpart, where everyone seemed to be dressed and styled in 1970's garb, apart from an HMV style dog it had an element of 1996 about it.  Even the Christmas jumpers were worn in a demure "what of it, I wear this all year round and I look bloody good in it" kind of way.  Weird adult jazz music created something very lounge lizardy about the whole set up, a selection of odd lampshades intermingled with branches of Christmas trees and green tinsel, only added to the vibe.  The barman was a helpful young chap - determined to get me to do a "try before you buy" on a peppery Magic Rock porter, I had to explain I wanted to "jump straight in" as it may ward off early signs of man-flu I'd been feeling.  This appeased him and caused the pub to look at me enquiringly, as if weighing up how sympathetic they felt towards my ailment, before deciding they gave zero fucks.  They returned to their tankards of Euro beer.   Oh well, worth a try.  I took my pint to the 'radiator' seat, one of those that can give you piles simply by leaning your shoulder on it.  I watched two couples theatrically meet up 'by chance' and sit down for a drink in cosy fashion (swingers obviously) and the dog, which hadn't read the script, punctuated the calmness with sharp yelps every ten minutes.

It'll ward off man-flu but it is a tough one to drink!

Lampshades and stuff.

A crazy man helped me flag down a 3A bus when I wasn't concentrating and soon I was back at Vicar Lane, where I made the short walk to the railway station, home in York by 8pm,  Sorted.

Next Tuesday, in what will be the unofficial "BRAPA Christmas Special", I'll be visiting a pub I suspect doesn't actually exist as no-one has even heard of the place, never mind the pub!  I'm going along for the jolly anyway, could be a good one to write up.

Si